System and Method for Context Aware Usability Management of Human Machine Interfaces

ABSTRACT

A method includes determining by a sensor of a mobile device that a first ambient sound level represents a quiet context for the mobile device, providing a audio signal to a speaker of the mobile device in response to determining that the first ambient sound level represents a quiet context, determining, by the sensor, that a second ambient sound level represents a first noisy context for the mobile device, wherein the second ambient sound level is louder than the first ambient sound level, modifying the audio signal into a beam forming audio signal in response to determining that the second ambient sound level represents the first noisy context, and providing the beam forming audio signal to the speaker.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/744,957 entitled “System and Method for Context Aware UsabilityManagement of Human Machine Interfaces,” filed on Jan. 18, 2013, thedisclosure of which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure generally relates to information handling systems, andmore particularly to providing context aware usability management ofhuman machine interfaces.

BACKGROUND

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individualsand businesses seek additional ways to process and store information.One option is an information handling system. An information handlingsystem generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicatesinformation or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Becausetechnology and information handling needs and requirements may varybetween different applications, information handling systems may alsovary regarding what information is handled, how the information ishandled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, andhow quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, orcommunicated. The variations in information handling systems allow forinformation handling systems to be general or configured for a specificuser or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airlinereservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. Inaddition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardwareand software resources that may be configured to process, store, andcommunicate information and may include one or more computer systems,data storage systems, and networking systems.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration,elements illustrated in the Figures have not necessarily been drawn toscale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements areexaggerated relative to other elements. Embodiments incorporatingteachings of the present disclosure are shown and described with respectto the drawings presented herein, in which:

FIG. 1 is illustrates a mobile device according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a mobile device according toanother embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a method of screen un-cluttering in the mobile deviceof FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 illustrates a method of screen enhancing in the mobile device ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 5 illustrates a method of beam formation in the mobile device ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 6 illustrates a method of keypad enhancement in the mobile deviceof FIG. 2; and

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an information handling systemaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicatessimilar or identical items.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The following description in combination with the Figures is provided toassist in understanding the teachings disclosed herein. The followingdiscussion will focus on specific implementations and embodiments of theteachings. This focus is provided to assist in describing the teachings,and should not be interpreted as a limitation on the scope orapplicability of the teachings. However, other teachings can certainlybe used in this application. The teachings can also be used in otherapplications, and with several different types of architectures, such asdistributed computing architectures, client/server architectures, ormiddleware server architectures and associated resources.

FIG. 1 illustrates a mobile device 100, including a camera 102, amicrophone 104, a speaker 106, a home button 108, a menu button 110, aback button 112, and a touch screen 114. As illustrated, mobile device100 is a tablet computing device. In other embodiments, mobile device100 may be a laptop computer, a commercial scanning device, asmartphone, another mobile electronic device, or a combination thereof.Mobile device 100 operates to provide one or more human machineinterfaces to receive inputs from a user, and to provide outputs to theuser. As such, mobile device 100 includes several input devices,including camera 102, microphone 104, home button 108, menu button 110,back button 112, and touch screen 114. Camera 102 represents aphotosensitive device integrated into mobile device 100 and operable torecord photographic images and full motion video images, to senseambient light and color levels, and to capture other visual informationin the field of view of the camera. Microphone 104 represents a soundsensitive device integrated into mobile device 100 and operable torecord sounds and audio tracks for full motion video images, to senseambient sound levels, and to capture other sound information in the areaof the microphone. In a particular embodiment, mobile device 100includes one or more additional cameras and microphones placed atdifferent locations on the mobile device, such as on the back side ofthe mobile device, as needed or desired.

Buttons 108, 110, and 112, and touch screen 114 represent user inputdevices that are operable to receive input from a user of mobile device100. In the case of buttons 108, 110, and 112, the functions associatedwith the user inputs to each button are predetermined and are consistentacross multiple modes of operation of mobile device 100. For example,home button 108 can operate to cancel functions that are being performedby mobile device 100, and to display a home page for the mobile device.Menu button 110 can operate to display a menu associated with acurrently operating function of mobile device 100. Back button 112 canoperate to display a previously operating function or previously showndisplay on touch screen 114. Touch screen 114 represents a dual purposeelement of mobile device 100, providing a primary visual output deviceof the mobile device and providing a touch based input device to themobile device. As a touch based input device, touch screen 114associates locations on the touch screen with different inputs, which,when depressed by a user, operate to direct the functions of mobiledevice 100. For example, from a home screen, touching a location that isdisplaying an icon can operate to launch an application associated withthe icon. In another example, in a text entry application, a locationassociated with alphanumeric inputs represented by a keyboard, touchinga location that is displaying a particular alphanumeric character canoperate to input the character into the text. In a particularembodiment, mobile device 100 includes one or more additional inputdevices 116 disposed within a case of the mobile device, such as avibration sensor, an orientation sensor, a rotation sensor, anacceleration sensor, a pressure sensor, a geographic positioning sensorsuch as a Global Positioning System (GPS) sensor, a free-fall sensor,another input device, or a combination thereof, as needed or desired.Output devices on mobile device 100 include speaker 106 and touch screen114. Mobile device 100 includes one or more additional output devices118 that are disposed within the case of the mobile device, such as anauxiliary display on the back side of the mobile device, one or moreadditional speaker, a vibrator, another output device, or a combinationthereof, as needed or desired.

In a particular embodiment, mobile device 100 operates to receive inputsfrom the input devices in order to determine a context within which themobile device is operating, and to modify the behavior of the outputdevices in response to the context. Here, the input devices can be usedto recognize various ambient conditions. For example, camera 102 candetect that the image in the field of view is constantly changing andmobile device 100 can thus infer that the mobile device is in motion.Here, one or more of the additional input devices 116, such as avibration sensor, an orientation sensor, a rotation sensor, anacceleration sensor, or a geographic positioning sensor can provideadditional context information related to the motion of mobile device100. In another example, camera 102 can determine an ambient lightlevel. Further, microphone 104 can detect an ambient noise level.Moreover one or more of the additional input devices 116, such as ageographic positioning sensor can provide additional context informationrelated to the location of mobile device 100.

In response to the various contextual information received from theinput devices or embedded sensors, mobile device 100 modifies thebehavior of the output devices in order to improve a user's experiencein interacting with the mobile device. For example, when the context formobile device 100 is determined to be one of chaotic motion, such aswhen a user is walking or riding along a bumpy road, the mobile devicecan perform adjustments to the image displayed on touch screen 114, soas to simplify and un-clutter the image. Here, various non-functionalaspects of the display can be eliminated, such as status bar informationor unused icons. Additionally, more relevant portions of the remainingdisplay image can be enlarged to more fully fill touch screen 114. Forexample, only the content of a web browser can be displayed, and varioussearch bars, scroll bars, menus, and the like, can be eliminated fromthe image.

Further, various display and input enhancements can be applied thatcompensate for a less steady hand when mobile device 100 is in motion.For example, when touch screen 114 displays a keypad, and mobile device100 is in motion, a touch averaging can be applied to more accuratelygage the user's intent when entering text to a moving mobile device.Thus, when a user intends to select a character, their hand may movebetween the intended character and an adjacent character. Here,additional pixels of touch screen 114 can be ascribed to each character,as described below, to ensure that the user's intent is more accuratelydetermined. In addition, mobile device 100 can average an amount of timespent in each area of touch screen 114 to determine which character isselected for a longer duration, thereby inferring the user's intent. Ina further step, if the averaging is unavailing to determine the user'sintent, the screen image can be modified to display the alternatecharacters in a much larger field of touch panel 114, thereby giving theuser a larger target to select from.

Additionally, when the context for mobile device 100 is determined to beone high brightness or low brightness, the mobile device can performadjustments to the image displayed on touch screen 114, so as to eitherbrighten or darken the image. Further, mobile device 100 can adapt thecolors of the display to provide improved image contrast. Further, whenthe ambient noise level is determined to be high, mobile device 100 canperform various audio enhancements such as beam forming, noisecancellation, and white noise generation. When the location for mobiledevice 100 is determined, the mobile device can also add features andfunctionality that is tailored to the location. For example, a languagepack for mobile device 100 can automatically be downloaded when themobile device determines that it is in a different country.

FIG. 2 illustrates a mobile device 200 similar to mobile device 100 andincluding a context sensor system 210, a context selector module 220, apolicy database 230, one or more application programming interfaces(APIs) 240, an operating system (OS)/software stack 250, a contextadjustment module 260, a display, 270, a speaker 280, and a touch pad290. Context sensor system 210 includes motion sensors 212, imagesensors 214, and sound sensor 216. Motion sensors 212 include one ormore sensor devices that detect and characterize the motion of mobiledevice 200, such as a vibration sensor, an orientation sensor, arotation sensor, an acceleration sensor, a pressure sensor, a geographicpositioning sensor, a free-fall sensor, another input device, or acombination thereof. Image sensors 214 include one or more sensordevices that detect and characterize the visible surroundings of mobiledevice 200, such as a camera, a light or color sensor, a photocell,another image sensor, or a combination thereof. Sound sensors 216include one or more sensor devices that detect and characterize theaudio surroundings of mobile device 200, such as a microphone, apressure sensor, another sound sensor, or a combination thereof.

Context selector module 220 operates to receive context information fromcontext sensor system 210 and to direct the adjustments to the outputdevices of mobile system 200. In particular, context selector module 220receives the information from the sensors 212, 214, and 216, and, basedupon various threshold levels for each sensor, determines whether or notan output is to be adjusted, and if so, by how much. Context selectormodule 220 accesses policy database 230 to determine the thresholdlevels, which output to adjust, and the degree to which the output is tobe adjusted. As such, policy database 230 includes various policysettings for determining the sensor thresholds for each sensor 212, 214,and 216, the output adjustments associated with each sensor and eachthreshold, and the degree to which the output is to be adjusted.

TABLE 1 Policy Database Policy Motion Image Sound Adjustment Default <10% 30-70%   <20% None Motion 10-40% — — Screen Un-Clutter 40-80% — —Image Enhancement 80-100%  — — Keypad Enhancement Brightness —  0-30% —Dim and Contrast — 30-70% — None — 70-100%  — Brighten and ContrastSound — —  0-20% None — —  20-70% Beam Forming — — 70-100% NoiseCancelling

Table 1 illustrates an embodiment of policy database 230. Here, policydatabase 230 includes a default policy, motion based policies,brightness based policies, and sound based policies. The default policyis defined in terms of a nominal value for motion sensors 212 thatindicate that the motion of mobile device 200 is less than 10%, nominalvalues for image sensors 214 that indicate that the brightness is in amidrange of between 30 and 70%, and nominal values for sound sensors 216that indicate that the ambient sound is less than 20%. Here, the policyindicates that no adjustments are to be made to the outputs when sensors212, 214, and 216 are within these values. The motion based polices aredefined in terms of value ranges for motion sensors 212 that are outsideof the nominal range. Here, when motion sensors 212 indicate that themotion of mobile device 200 is between 10 and 40%, the mobile device canperform screen un-cluttering, when the sensors indicate that the motionis between 40 and 80%, the mobile device can also perform imageenhancement, and when the sensors indicate that the motion is between 80and 100%, the mobile device can further perform keypad enhancement.Brightness and sound policies are similarly defined in policy database230 as indicated.

It will be understood that additional polices can be provided, and thatthe threshold levels are exemplary values. Further, the skilled artisanwill recognize that different polices that are based upon variouscombinations of sensor inputs are possible. Moreover, percentages areused herein to describe the sensor inputs. However, other measures ofsensor input can be utilized, as needed or desired. For example, soundlevels can be defined in terms of decibels, brightness can be defined interms of candle power, motion can be defined in terms of a g-forcereading from an accelerometer, or other definitions can be utilized. Ina particular embodiment, policy database 230 can be accessed via a userinterface that allows a user of mobile device 200 to add, remove,change, or update policies, and to create custom policies.

Context selector module 220 operates to direct the adjustments to theoutput devices of mobile system 200 via two different methods. In thefirst method, context selector module 220 operates to provide selectedcontext outputs to API 240 which utilizes hooks into OS/software stack250 to manipulate the behavior of the outputs at the OS or applicationsoftware level. OS/software stack 250 includes an application reductionmodule 252, a video output 254, an audio output 256, and a touch padinput 258. Here, OS/software stack 250 provides hooks to API 240 thatare used to modify the output behavior of the OS/software stack. In aparticular embodiment, API 240 uses hooks into OS/software stack 250 toaccess application reduction module 252 to close a program that runningin the background on mobile device 200, or to shut down a threadassociated with a program. In this way, the image displayed on display270 is un-cluttered. For example, where a time/date dashboard isdisplayed in the default operation mode, application reduction module252 can shut down the time/date dashboard application to un-clutter thedisplay in one or more of the motion based operation modes.

In another embodiment, API 240 uses hooks into OS/software stack toaccess core functions of the OS or the software running on mobile device200. For example, where OS/software stack operates to display a statusbar in the default operation mode, API 240 can direct the OS/softwarestack to keep the status bar running, but to remove the status bar tofurther un-clutter the display in one or more of the motion basedoperation modes. In another embodiment, API 240 uses hooks into one ormore of video output 254, audio output 256 and touch pad input 258 todirectly change the outputs. For example, API 240 can directlymanipulate contrast and brightness settings of video output 254 toimplement one or more of the brightness operation modes, and candirectly manipulate sound shaping settings of audio output 256 toimplement one or more of the sound operation modes. Similarly, API 240can direct touch pad input 258 to implement various key padenhancements, as needed or desired. The skilled artisan will recognizethat, although API 240 is described as a single element of mobile device200, one or more additional APIs can be present in the mobile device,each being tailored the specific needs or capabilities of different OSfeatures or software programs operating on the mobile device.

FIG. 3 illustrates various screen un-cluttering methods provided bycontext selector module 220 via API 240. A normal operation mode 300includes a normal mode services list 310 and a normal mode display 320.Here, in the normal operating mode, services list 310 shows that mobiledevice 200 is running a web application, an icon application, a statusbar application, and a software updater. Normal mode display 320 shows aweb page 322 associated with the web application, an icon display 324associated with the icon application, and a status bar displayassociated with the status bar application. Here, the software updateris running in the background on mobile device 200. When, based upon thedirection of context selector module 220, mobile device 200 enters amotion based operation mode, API 240 directs OS/software stack 250 toenter an un-cluttered operation mode 350 including an un-cluttered modeservices list 360 and an uncluttered mode display 370. Here, API 240 hasdirected application reduction module 252 to shut down the icon program,the status bar program, and the software updater. In response,uncluttered mode display 370 shows only web page 372 associated with theweb application. Here web page 372 is also resized with respect to webpage 322, in order to more fully utilize the screen area of the display.In another embodiment, web page 372 is unchanged from web page 322.

In the second method of directing the adjustments to the output devices,context selector module 220 provide the selected context outputs tocontext adjuster module 260 which directly manipulates the behavior ofthe outputs from OS/software stack 250. Context adjuster module 260includes a video adjuster module 262, an audio adjuster module 264, anda touch pad adjuster module 266. Here, video adjuster module 262operates in line between video output module 254 and display 270 toperform various context based adjustments to the displayed image. Forexample, where video output module 254 provides an image display for anapplication in the default operation mode, video adjuster module 262 canresize and reposition the image, enhancing the actual image displayed ondisplay 270 to include only a most commonly used portion of the originalimage in one or more of the motion based operation modes.

FIG. 4 illustrates a screen enhancing method provided by contextadjuster module 260 via video adjustment module 262. A normal operationmode 400 includes a normal mode display 410 showing a web page 415.When, based upon the direction of context selector module 220, mobiledevice 200 enters a motion based operation mode, context adjuster module260 directs video adjuster module 462 to enter an enhanced operationmode 420 including an enhanced mode display 430 showing an enhanced webpage 435. Note that here, video output 254 still provides web page 415as an output, but video enhancement module 262 resizes and repositionsthe web page so that a most commonly used portion of the web page isdisplayed.

Returning to FIG. 2, audio adjuster module 264 operates in line betweenaudio output module 256 and speaker 280 to perform various context basedadjustments to the sound from the speaker. For example, where audiooutput module 256 provides a sound signal in the default operation mode,audio adjuster module 264 can perform various beam forming techniques ornoise cancellation functions, or add white noise to the signal providedto speaker 280 in one or more of the sound based operation modes.

FIG. 5 illustrates a beam forming method provided by context adjustermodule 260 via audio adjustment module 264. A normal operation mode 500includes a normal sound signal 510 provided by a pair of speaker 502 and504. When, based upon the direction of context selector module 220,mobile device 200 enters a sound based operation mode, context adjustermodule 260 directs audio adjuster module 464 to enter an enhancedoperation mode 520 where a beamed sound signal 530 is provided byspeakers 502 and 504. The skilled artisan will understand that audiobeam forming can utilize more than two speakers. In another embodiment,speakers 502 and 504 can provide noise cancelling or white noisegeneration in enhanced operation mode 520.

Returning again to FIG. 2, touch pad adjuster module 266 operates inline between touch pad 290 and touch pad input 258 to perform variouscontext based adjustments to the operation of the touch pad. Forexample, working in conjunction with video adjuster module 262, touchpad adjuster module 626 provides enhancements to a keypad function. Forexample, when mobile device 200 is in a normal operation mode, a userselects a character from a keypad. However, when mobile device 200 is ina motion based operation mode, touch pad adjuster 262 can average anamount of time that a touch is above various characters of the keypad todetermine the user's intent, or can enhance one or more key entry padsto make it easier to select the intended character.

FIG. 6 illustrates keypad display provided by video output 252 in anormal operation mode 600. When, based upon the direction of contextselector module 220, mobile device 200 enters a motion based operationmode, context adjuster module 260 directs touch pad adjuster module 266to operate in an enhanced operation mode 610 where average the touchdurations over adjacent keys are determine in order to determine auser's intentions. In a particular embodiment, a border area 612 arounda first character, and a similar border area 614 surrounds a secondcharacter. Here, the border areas of adjacent characters overlap 616.Here, when a touch is sensed within the first character and also withinthe second character within a short duration of time, the time of thetouch within each character can be measured, or if the touch oscillatesbetween characters, the time within each character can be averaged. Inthis way, the character that has either the longest touch, or thelongest average touch can be inferred to be the intended character. Ifthe durations within each character are very close to being equal,context selector module 220 selects a hover mode of operation 620 anddirects video adjuster module 462 to enter a hover operation mode 620where the image for the characters 622 and 624 are enlarged in order tomake it easier for the user to select the intended character.

FIG. 7 illustrates an information handling system 700. For purpose ofthis disclosure a mobile electronic device can be implemented as aninformation handling system and may include any instrumentality oraggregate of instrumentalities operable to compute, classify, process,transmit, receive, retrieve, originate, switch, store, display,manifest, detect, record, reproduce, handle, or utilize any form ofinformation, intelligence, or data for business, scientific, control,entertainment, or other purposes. For example, an information handlingsystem may be a personal computer, a PDA, a consumer electronic device,a network server or storage device, a switch router or other networkcommunication device, or any other suitable device and may vary in size,shape, performance, functionality, architecture, and price. Theinformation handling system may include memory, one or more processingresources such as a central processing unit (CPU) or hardware orsoftware control logic, and operates to execute code. Additionalcomponents of the information handling system may include one or morestorage devices that can store code, one or more communications portsfor communicating with external devices as well as various input andoutput (I/O) devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a video display.The information handling system may also include one or more busesoperable to transmit communications between the various hardwarecomponents.

Information handling system 700 includes a processor 702 and one or moreadditional processors 704, a chipset 710, a memory 720, a graphicsinterface 730, include a basic input and output system/extensiblefirmware interface (BIOS/EFI) module 740, a disk controller 750, a diskemulator 760, an input/output (I/O) interface 770, a network interface780, and a management controller (MC) 790. Processor 702 is connected tochipset 710 via processor interface 706, and processor 704 is connectedto the chipset via processor interface 708. Memory 720 is connected tochipset 710 via a memory bus 722. Graphics interface 730 is connected tochipset 710 via a graphics interface 732, and provides a video displayoutput 736 to a video display 734. In a particular embodiment,information handling system 700 includes separate memories that arededicated to each of processors 702 and 704 via separate memoryinterfaces. An example of memory 720 includes random access memory (RAM)such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), non-volatile RAM(NV-RAM), or the like, read only memory (ROM), another type of memory,or a combination thereof.

BIOS/EFI module 740, disk controller 750, and I/O interface 770 areconnected to chipset 710 via an I/O channel 712. An example of I/Ochannel 712 includes a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI)interface, a PCI-Extended (PCI-X) interface, a high-speed PCI-Express(PCIe) interface, another industry standard or proprietary communicationinterface, or a combination thereof. Chipset 710 can also include one ormore other I/O interfaces, including an Industry Standard Architecture(ISA) interface, a Small Computer Serial Interface (SCSI) interface, anInter-Integrated Circuit (I²C) interface, a System Packet Interface(SPI), a Universal Serial Bus (USB), another interface, or a combinationthereof. BIOS/EFI module 740 includes BIOS/EFI code operable to detectresources within information handling system 700, to provide drivers forthe resources, initialize the resources, and access the resources.BIOS/EFI module 740 includes code that operates to detect resourceswithin information handling system 700, to provide drivers for theresources, to initialize the resources, and to access the resources.

Disk controller 750 includes a disk interface 752 that connects the disccontroller to a hard disk drive (HDD) 754, to an optical disk drive(ODD) 756, and to disk emulator 760. An example of disk interface 752includes an Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) interface, an AdvancedTechnology Attachment (ATA) such as a parallel ATA (PATA) interface or aserial ATA (SATA) interface, a SCSI interface, a USB interface, aproprietary interface, or a combination thereof. Disk emulator 760permits a solid-state drive 764 to be coupled to information handlingsystem 700 via an external interface 762. An example of externalinterface 762 includes a USB interface, an IEEE 1394 (Firewire)interface, a proprietary interface, or a combination thereof.Alternatively, solid-state drive 764 can be disposed within informationhandling system 700.

I/O interface 770 includes a peripheral interface 772 that connects theI/O interface to an add-on resource 774 and to network interface 780.Peripheral interface 772 can be the same type of interface as I/Ochannel 712, or can be a different type of interface. As such, I/Ointerface 770 extends the capacity of I/O channel 712 when peripheralinterface 772 and the I/O channel are of the same type, and the I/Ointerface translates information from a format suitable to the I/Ochannel to a format suitable to the peripheral channel 772 when they areof a different type. Add-on resource 774 can include a data storagesystem, an additional graphics interface, a network interface card(NIC), a sound/video processing card, another add-on resource, or acombination thereof. Add-on resource 774 can be on a main circuit board,on separate circuit board or add-in card disposed within informationhandling system 700, a device that is external to the informationhandling system, or a combination thereof.

In a particular embodiment, add-on resource 774 includes an option ROM(not illustrated). The option ROM is a firmware component supplied bythe maker of add-on resource 774 and that operates to initialize andconfigure the add-on resource 774 during boot of information handlingsystem 700. The option ROM extends the functionality of BIOS/EFI module740 to incorporate the functionality of add-on resource 774 intoinformation handling system 700. As such, the option ROM provides aninterface between BIOS/EFI module 740 and add-on resource 774,permitting the BIOS/EFI module to implement functions specific to theadd-on resource 774, such as power-on self test, interrupt service, orinput/output service calls. The option ROM may be in memory 720, or in amemory of add-on resource 774.

Network interface 780 represents a NIC disposed within informationhandling system 700, on a main circuit board of the information handlingsystem, integrated onto another component such as chipset 710, inanother suitable location, or a combination thereof. Network interfacedevice 780 includes network channels 782 and 784 that provide interfacesto devices that are external to information handling system 700. In aparticular embodiment, network channels 782 and 784 are of a differenttype than peripheral channel 772 and network interface 780 translatesinformation from a format suitable to the peripheral channel to a formatsuitable to external devices. An example of network channels 782 and 784includes InfiniBand channels, Fibre Channel channels, Gigabit Ethernetchannels, proprietary channel architectures, or a combination thereof.Network channels 782 and 784 can be coupled to external networkresources (not illustrated). The network resource can include anotherinformation handling system, a data storage system, another network, agrid management system, another suitable resource, or a combinationthereof.

MC 790 is connected to processors 702 and 704, chipset 710, memory 720,and BIOS/EFI module 740 via a system communication bus 792. MC 790 maybe on a main circuit board such as a baseboard, a motherboard, or acombination thereof), integrated onto another component such as chipset710, in another suitable location, or a combination thereof. In aparticular embodiment, one or more additional resources of informationhandling system 700, such as graphics interface 730, video display 734,I/O interface 770, disk controller 750, and network interface 780 areconnected to MC 790. MC 790 can be part of an integrated circuit or achip set within information handling system 700, and can be on a maincircuit board, on separate circuit board or add-in card disposed withinthe information handling system, or a combination thereof. An example ofMC 790 includes a baseboard management controller (BMC), an integratedDell remote access controller (iDRAC), another controller, or acombination thereof. An example of system communication bus 792 includesan inter-integrated circuit (I²C) bus, a system management bus (SMBus),a serial peripheral interface (SPI) bus, a low pin count (LPC) bus,another bus, or a combination thereof.

MC 790 is connected via a network channel 794 to a management station796 that is external to information handling system 700. Managementstation 796 operates in conjunction with management controller 790 toprovide out-of-band management of information handling system 700.Commands, communications, or other signals are communicated between MC790 and management station 796 to monitor status of information handlingsystem 700, to control the operations of the resources of theinformation handling system, and to update the resources. In aparticular embodiment, MC 790 is powered by a separate power plane ininformation handling system 700, so that the MC can be operated whileother portions of the information handling system are powered off. Inanother embodiment, MC 790 is operated during boot of informationhandling system 700).

Although only a few exemplary embodiments have been described in detailherein, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that manymodifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments withoutmaterially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of theembodiments of the present disclosure. Accordingly, all suchmodifications are intended to be included within the scope of theembodiments of the present disclosure as defined in the followingclaims. In the claims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to coverthe structures described herein as performing the recited function andnot only structural equivalents, but also equivalent structures.

The above-disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover any andall such modifications, enhancements, and other embodiments that fallwithin the scope of the present invention. Thus, to the maximum extentallowed by law, the scope of the present invention is to be determinedby the broadest permissible interpretation of the following claims andtheir equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited by theforegoing detailed description.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: determining, by a sensor ofa mobile device, that a first ambient sound level represents a quietcontext for the mobile device; providing an audio signal to a speaker ofthe mobile device in response to determining that the first ambientsound level represents a quiet context; determining, by the sensor, thata second ambient sound level represents a first noisy context for themobile device, wherein the second ambient sound level is louder than thefirst ambient sound level; modifying the audio signal into a beamforming audio signal in response to determining that the second ambientsound level represents the first noisy context; and providing the beamforming audio signal to the speaker.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving, by a context selector module of the mobiledevice, the determination that the first ambient sound level representsa quiet context, and the determination that that the second ambientsound level represents a noisy context; wherein modifying the audiosignal is in response to a the context selector module receiving thedetermination that that the second ambient sound level represents anoisy context.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: sending,from the context selector module, an instruction to an applicationprogramming interface; and sending, from the application programminginterface, the instruction to a software stack of the mobile device;wherein the audio signal is modified by the software stack.
 4. Themethod of claim 3, wherein the software stack comprises an operatingsystem of the mobile device.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein thesoftware stack comprises an application program of the mobile device. 6.The method of claim 2, further comprising: sending, from the contextselector module, an instruction to an audio adjuster; wherein the audiosignal is modified by the audio adjuster.
 7. The method of claim 1,further comprising: determining, by the sensor, that a third ambientsound level ambient represents a second noisy context for the mobiledevice, wherein the third ambient sound level is louder than the secondambient sound level; modifying the audio signal into a noise cancellingaudio signal in response to determining that the third ambient soundlevel represents the second noisy context; and providing the noisecancelling audio signal to the speaker.
 8. The method of claim 7,further comprising: determining, by the sensor, that a fourth ambientsound level ambient represents a third noisy context for the mobiledevice, wherein the fourth ambient sound level is louder than the thirdambient sound level; modifying the audio signal into a white noise audiosignal in response to determining that the fourth ambient sound levelrepresents the third noisy context; and providing the white noise audiosignal to the speaker.
 9. A mobile device comprising: a sensor operableto determine that a condition for the mobile device has changed from afirst context to a second context; a policy database; a display; and acontext selector operable to: direct the display to display a firstimage when the mobile device is in the first context based on a firstentry of the policy database; and direct the display to display a secondimage when the mobile device is in the second context based on a secondentry of the policy database; wherein the first context represents anon-moving condition for the mobile device and the second contextrepresents a moving condition for the mobile device; and wherein thefirst image comprises a plurality of image components and the secondimage comprises a subset of the image components, the subset includingfewer image components than the plurality of image components.
 10. Themobile device of claim 9, further comprising: an application programminginterface operable to: receive, from the context selector module, aninstruction to display the second image; and send the instruction to asoftware stack of the mobile device, wherein the software stack modifiesthe first image into the second image.
 11. The mobile device of claim10, wherein, in modifying the first image into the second image, thesoftware stack is operable to shut down a thread running on the mobiledevice.
 12. The mobile device of claim 10, wherein the software stackcomprises an operating system of the mobile device.
 13. The mobiledevice of claim 10, wherein the software stack comprises an applicationprogram of the mobile device.
 14. The mobile device of claim 9, furthercomprising: a video adjuster module operable to receive an instructionfrom the context selector module, wherein the video signal is modifiedby the video adjuster.
 15. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumincluding code for performing a method, the method comprising:determining that a first ambient sound level represents a quiet contextfor the mobile device; providing an audio signal to a speaker of themobile device in response to determining that the first ambient soundlevel represents a quiet context; determining that a second ambientsound level represents a first noisy context for the mobile device,wherein the second ambient sound level is louder than the first ambientsound level; modifying the audio signal into a beam forming audio signalin response to determining that the second ambient sound levelrepresents the first noisy context; and providing the beam forming audiosignal to the speaker.
 16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, themethod further comprising: receiving, by a context selector module ofthe mobile device, the determination that the first ambient sound levelrepresents a quiet context, and the determination that that the secondambient sound level represents a noisy context; wherein modifying theaudio signal is in response to a the context selector module receivingthe determination that that the second ambient sound level represents anoisy context.
 17. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, the methodfurther comprising: sending, from the context selector module, aninstruction to an application programming interface; and sending, fromthe application programming interface, the instruction to a softwarestack of the mobile device; wherein the audio signal is modified by thesoftware stack.
 18. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, the methodfurther comprising: sending, from the context selector module, aninstruction to an audio adjuster; wherein the audio signal is modifiedby the audio adjuster.
 19. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, themethod further comprising: determining, by the sensor, that a thirdambient sound level ambient represents a second noisy context for themobile device, wherein the third ambient sound level is louder than thesecond ambient sound level; modifying the audio signal into a noisecancelling audio signal in response to determining that the thirdambient sound level represents the second noisy context; and providingthe noise cancelling audio signal to the speaker.
 20. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 19, the method further comprising:determining, by the sensor, that a fourth ambient sound level ambientrepresents a third noisy context for the mobile device, wherein thefourth ambient sound level is louder than the third ambient sound level;modifying the audio signal into a white noise audio signal in responseto determining that the fourth ambient sound level represents the thirdnoisy context; and providing the white noise audio signal to thespeaker.